Quest for True Love's Elixir
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: Aphrodite needs Percy, Annabeth and Clarisse to reclaim a forbidden love potion for her, but there's just one thing wrong: Annabeth's been kidnapped. Now, Clarisse and Percy have to put aside their differences in order to not only complete the quest, but also save their fellow demigod. Percy's newest prophecy doesn't seem to be helping matters either.
1. Chapter 1

**_I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Nor do I wish to considering the fact that I might have screwed it up. Rick Riordan is doing a wonderful job all his own. _**

**_Alright, hey guys! I may not be a big fan of Percy Jackson and the Olympians like the rest of you guys, but I recently saw the Sea of Monsters and loved it enough to make this fic. Hope you enjoy it!_**

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**_Blonde hair flowing  
Long and gold  
Grey eyes shining  
With wisdom of old  
Dark hair falling  
Over skin of white  
With the body of a warrior  
To win the fight  
Love lost long ago  
Torn apart by fury  
To be together again  
Hatred they will bury_**

A flash of lightning cut across the blackness and was washed away by a tidal wave

**_One mission as always  
Shall change their fate  
The warrior to confess  
Before it is too late  
Death is on the doorstep  
The knock is loud  
Do not attempt to be strong  
Or make someone proud  
Confess to emotion before she is gone  
Or the cycle will continue to go on_**

A sword's slash cut through the darkness this time to be clashed against a shield.

**_The children of the warriors  
Reunited at last  
Coming together for the first time  
Since a long bloody past  
Peace between the pair  
Arms entwined  
And the two children will be together  
Until the end of time_**

Percy shot up in his bed at Camp Half-Blood. Glancing around the cabin, he saw Tyson snoozing peacefully across the aisle. Riptide's wielder huffed and ran a hand through his hair. _Why do I have to fulfill so many prophecies?_ He wondered, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. Standing up and stretching, Percy slid into a shirt and made his way out into the camp, glancing all around. Making his way to the lake, the demigod settled onto the wood of the pier and thought over the poem that had played within his head.

_Blonde hair… grey eyes… well, that is obvious. Must be Annabeth. Dark hair and white skin is obviously me. But what are the two of us supposed to do? And why do the prophecies never mention Grover? Whatever, back on track. Body of a warrior… to win what fight, though? And I know I've bulked up, but I wouldn't exactly say I'm a warrior. Maybe it's further in the future so I'll have beaten Clarisse by then? 'Love lost long ago', but what love? I don't understand that. And how could fury have torn it apart? Maybe it's referring to the gods? They seem to have no quarrels with expressing their hatred of each other, so maybe we're going to make peace among them?_

Percy sighed in agitation, hating it when the gods sent him a prophecy or the Fates sent it or whoever. They were always so cryptic for no apparent reason. Deciding to put this aside for right now, he continued on toward the next stanza of the poem.

_We're going to have a quest, like we always somehow manage to do. But change our fate? What fate? And warrior to confess what? What do I need to tell Annabeth? Or maybe, since she's more of a warrior than I am, she needs to confess something to me? But what's up with that death on the doorstep part? I don't like the sound of that. If one of us is going to die, I'm going to fight this quest every step of the way until I figure out which one of us. Wait… 'Confess the emotion before she is gone…' That must mean it's going to Annabeth who's dying. Which means I'm not going on this quest at all. I'm not going to lead my best friend to her death._

The son of Poseidon shook his head to try clearing it and sighed. _Even though I'm touching the water, figuring this stuff out is still tricky._ Setting his jaw in concentration, Percy went on to the last and shortest stanza, wondering what it could mean.

_Children of the warriors… well, I didn't know my dad was the warrior type, but I suppose that works. He is one of the Big Three after all. But coming together makes no sense. We've known each other for a long time already, it couldn't possibly mean that we're together for the first time unless… dating, maybe?_ Percy grinned at this prospect before getting his mind back on track. _Everything after that is pretty much cleared up. Arms entwined, peace, together forever… pretty standard stuff. Alright, sounds easy enough, but I have to figure out what I need to confess before I go on this stupid quest. _

Heading back to his cabin, Percy slid underneath of the blanket and stared up at the wooden ceiling, wondering if this quest would really be worth it since the world wasn't at stake. Or at least the prophect didn't mention the world being at stake again. Either way, he would have to think it over in the morning. Rolling onto his side, the son of Poseidon closed his eyes and drifted back into slumber, his dreams not plagued by the prophecy again that night.

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_**Yes, I wrote the poem myself. Any poetry in my writing, I wrote myself... I kinda cheated in Heroine's Sadie Hawkins Dance though. I used one half of my poem and one half of someone else's but I still wrote it. Anyway, drop me a review and tell me what you think. Tell me if you like it and all that jazz. Thanks!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. _**

**_Now I've found my new obsession because everywhere I turn, I'm thinking of this story. So this should be an interesting fix. By all means, enjoy the chapter. I sure as hell enjoyed writing it._**

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Percy grunted as another blow landed his sword, but he refused to back down. Bright hazel eyes glared at him as Clarisse panted at the opposite side of the ring. The pair had been sparring for an hour and neither had yielded to the other thus far. Percy had sweat dripping into his eyes while Clarisse's hair stuck to her forehead.

With a mutual signal, the pair charged each other again. They were evenly matched, really. Percy had as much strength as Clarisse due to being born of one of the big three, but Clarisse had been fighting longer, making her matched with Percy. The pair began trading blows once more, spinning and dodging when the time called for it so as not to get slashed by the other's sword.

"Give it up, Jackson." Clarisse snarled, parrying another blow.

"Not a chance in Tartarus, Clarisse." Percy snickered.

"What? That you'll beat me? So true."

Percy grimaced at the way she twisted his answer, but continued the sparring match. He refused to lose to Ares' daughter, this time. She had beaten him too often and this would be the end of that winning streak.

Clarisse's mind was somewhere completely different. She knew Annabeth was arriving at Camp soonand she wanted to be able to show the daughter of Athena another win to her streak against Jackson. She knew it would irritate the blonde that Clarisse had once again beaten her best friend. The daughter of Ares couldn't understand why Annabeth hung out with Poseidon's son to begin with. He was clumsy, weak and his bravery was slowly inching across the line to stupidity. His hero complex was going to get him killed.

Her train of thought nearly gave Percy an advantage, but she ducked the blow just in time to parry and push, making the son of Poseidon stumble. Ares' daughter snarled at being caught off guard and lunged, swiping at Percy's side. Percy quickly dodged, but he wasn't quite fast enough and a small scratch was drawn along his arm. It was small and barely noticeable, but it was definitely there and Clarisse stood tall in victory.

"You know, if you didn't insist on making the bet 'the first person to draw blood is winner', you may actually beat me one day, Jackson." She snickered, turning on her heel.

Percy huffed in reply. "Don't worry. One day I will. And Annabeth's going to celebrate with me."

Clarisse froze for a second at that, but kept up her pace as if she hadn't paused. "Yeah. One big dorkfest." She scoffed, continuing off into the woods. After walking for a bit of time, Clarisse sighed, coming to her cove and depositing her armor on a nearby tree limb. Picking up her oil and rag, she began cleaning her sword. _Why him?_ The warrior wondered, moving the cloth in smooth motions along the blade. _He's weak. There's no way he can protect her anywhere but the sea. Almost everywhere is my father's domain so I can protect her anywhere. Stupid cockblocking Jackson._

Clarisse remembered the first time she had met Annabeth. Right from the beginning the pair had hated each other because of who their parents were. Annabeth was unhappy that Ares constantly made her mother uncomfortable and Clarisse taunted Annabeth over the fact that her mother was a prude. Any time the two met on the battlefield for Capture the Flag, everyone else would leave them enough space because their battles would always get out of hand despite Annabeth's strategizing.

Slowly, over the years, Clarisse had become… accustomed to the blonde's presence, anticipating the battles not for a chance to beat the blonde (despite the pair always ending in a stalemate), but for a chance to watch Annabeth in action. The way the lithe body moved, the blonde hair flipped and spun, the way the grey eyes would flash with defiance and the ancient wisdom of Athena. It was breathtaking for Ares' daughter and she treasured every moment of their battles now, just to feel as if she shared something close with Annabeth.

But of course, that would never be the case. Annabeth was coming that night and would undoubtedly hate Clarisse even more because she had once again beaten Percy Jackson in a spar. _It's not my fault Jackson's not skilled enough yet to beat me._ Clarisse thought bitterly, feeling her insides churn at the thought of Annabeth being angry with her. _Perhaps I should visit Aunt Aphrodite to ask for love advice. I mean, who better to get such advice from than the source itself?_

Clairsse relaxed in her cove for a bit longer before the dinner bell rang. _Only a few hours now._ She thought as she stood and gathered the armor she was going to use for the next day. _Then Annabeth will be here and this camp will finally be interesting._

**_…_**

The Goddess of Love hummed as she twirled around her chamber. She was redecorating. Her room had been getting boring lately with all of the hearts strung everywhere and all of the pink. So, Aphrodite decided to spice it up with a bit of red flare. She had heard Clarisse, daughter of Ares, thinking of asking her love advice and she was going to ask the girl for an opinion of her room's new look when the girl came up to see her.

_And if she calls me down, I can simply summon her up here so she'll have no choice but to check it out._ The goddess grinned to herself, putting the finishing touches on her room and admiring her handiwork appreciatively. _Now, time for a snack._

Aphrodite glanced around, blonde curls bouncing slightly as she searched for a presence nearby. Coming up with nothing, she shrugged and exited her chambers, not noticing the shadowy figure standing just behind her door. As it closed, large amber eyes opened and surveyed the room.

Moving quickly, the figure slipped around the bed and along the wall to the wall to the left of the window. Finding several vials of perfume on the vanity dresser, the shadowy person gave a derisive sniff and reached for a large slender dark purple bottle. It came loose from the dresser easily and the person shook their head, replacing it and grabbing at a round light pink one instead. Again, it was too easy to remove and was replaced. Once again with a long dark blue bottle, a short thin light orange one and a medium-sized green one. With a frustrated hiss, the figure grabbed blindly at a black bottle in the back and yanked, feeling it catch.

The vanity slid forward easily and the figure grinned, slipping inside the hidden passageway and making their way through the tunnel to the end. A large room lay before them and in the center, a small red vial with black substance inside sat on a pedestal. The pedestal, of course, was surrounded to the brim with traps from the ceiling, on the ground and hanging suspended in the air. The figure growled slightly and took a hook from their pocket. Tossing the hook through the many alarm triggers, it caught the vial and snagged it. The shadow easily began pulling its target through the traps, finally securing it in hand.

Stealing back up the staircase, the figure was unprepared for a tripwire to set off a large gong-like bell, alerting Aphrodite to its presence. Hurriedly leaping out the window before the goddess appeared, the figure stole away into the large city.

Aphrodite materialized in her room and gasped to see her hidden chamber open. Rushing down to the trap room, she let out a scream of horror at what had been taken. Beginning to hyperventilate, the Goddess of Love raced back up the stairs and into the throne room, staring up at her father in terror.

"It's gone."

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**_And now the plot has time to thicken. Yay! I enjoy thinking about Percy and Clarisse fighting and Clarisse's inner turmoil over Annabeth. Anyway, send a review and tell me how you like it, yeah?_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. _**

**_Alright, another chapter for y'all. I'm serious, this has got to be the biggest obsession I've had since I began Who Am I, Mistress and Mating Troubles. Also, I'm trying to make Clarisse and Percy seem on equal grounds rather than making one seem more adept/inept than the other. Enjoy this chapter._**

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Annabeth slipped through the trees easily, avoiding any patches of light so that it was harder for monsters to spot her. Moving slowly, Annabeth could see the camp within sight and she would soon be within the safe confines of the campgrounds. Hearing someone behind her, Annabeth turned and spotted a shadowy figure hurrying toward her. Assuming that it was another camper, she reached out and pulled them close, keeping them in the shadows with her.

The figure snarled angrily and slammed their elbow into her stomach. The blonde coughed and sputtered, glaring at the person angrily. "What's your deal?" she hissed softly. "I was trying to help you!"

The figure stared down at her speculatively and it took out a large yellow bottle. Spraying a reddish substance into the air, Annabeth wasn't fast enough to hold her breath and ended up inhaling the spray. Coughing slightly, she inhaled more and felt dizziness set in. "No…" she choked, falling to her knees.

The figure gave a sharp-toothed smile and lifted her over his shoulders. Stealing back into the woods, Annabeth tried calling for help as Camp grew farther away, but she was too weak from whatever the person had sprayed at her and as Camp Half-Blood disappeared from sight, Annabeth slowly faded into darkness.

…

Clarisse moved through the campgrounds easily, wondering where Annabeth was. _She's probably sleeping, having gotten back late last night._ The scion of Ares mused, strolling through the trees. _I suppose I can wait to bother her about a battle until she's well-rested. After all, it's no fun when she's not at her best._

Heading towards the obstacle tower, Clarisse pondered over practicing with it, remembering a few recent times that she had been knocked back down to the bottom because she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. Dismissing the thought, the daughter of Ares headed toward the pavilion in order to grab a snack.

"Hey, Clarisse!" the brunette turned to see one of the children from the Hermes cabin coming toward her.

"What do you need?" she asked haughtily, flipping her hair from her eyes.

"Lady Aphrodite wants to speak with you up on Mount Olympus as soon as possible." The young boy told her.

Clarisse stared at him in confusion. "But how am I supposed to get there?" she inquired.

Before the question had even fully left her mouth, a sleek black and red motorcycle slid in front of her. Hazel eyes widened in surprise before a slow grin spread across her face.

"Thanks." Clarisse called to the Hermes boy as she hopped onto the motorcycle. Grabbing the helmet and securing it on her head, the daughter of Ares kicked the bike into action and sped into the sky, heading for her father's home. Arriving on Olympus, she quickly parked the motorcycle and grabbed the keys, pocketing them easily as she made her way into the throne room, keeping her head low and bowing slightly to the lords.

"Ah, Clarisse." Ares called, shrinking himself down so as to be less intimidating. "You're right on time. Seems my sister is unhappy about something incredibly important and she needs you two to help her."

"Two?" Clarisse asked hopefully, feeling her heart leap at the thought of getting a quest with Annabeth.

"Yes." Poseidon replied, motioning to a figure standing in front of him. The person turned around and Clarisse felt her heart fill with anger. The very person she was competing against. Percy _freaking_ Jackson.

"What is he doing here?" Clarisse snarled, reaching for her sword easily, before Ares put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't attack him." The God of War sighed. "Aphrodite needs him too. Go, both of you. She's waiting."

"Yes, Lord Ares." Both nodded, backing out. Both Percy and Clarisse glared at each other, but made their way to the rooms of the Goddess of Love without killing each other. Percy knocked firmly at the door and the pair waited.

"Enter!" a call sounded from inside.

Clarisse and Percy walked into the chambers of the Goddess of Love and bowed their heads. "You don't have to do that with me." Aphrodite told them, shrinking down to human size.

"You requested to see us, Lady Aphrodite?" Percy asked.

"Yes." The goddess sighed. Aphrodite began pacing as she explained the situation. "It seems that someone knew about True Love's Elixir. It's a potion I created that I only use under dire circumstances to get two people to confess their love for each other. By giving it to someone, it causes that person to go to sleep until their true love wakes them with a kiss. The reason I was forbidden from using it was because sometimes, if it's used, the person's true love won't find them for a long time and their body will have deteriorated by then, making them unappealing to the person looking at them. Of course, the body restores itself once it's been delivered a kiss, but the true love wouldn't know that."

"What are we for?" Clarisse inquired slowly.

"I need you three to get it back for me." Aphrodite went on. "I would get one of my own children to do it, but this takes a warrior, a strategist and someone who will help no matter what. Your little group is the best for the job." Aphrodite turned to face them and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Annabeth?"

Percy shrugged. "She hasn't arrived at camp."

"But she was supposed to be there yesterday." Clarisse breathed, eyes widening.

"She was?" the son of Poseidon inquired.

"Yeah. I found out when I was last in Mr. D.'s office. He had the times of all campers entering on his board and Annabeth was supposed to arrive sometime around ten thirty last night." Percy looked at her oddly. "What? I was bored and decided to take a look around while D was having his time with Chiron." The odd look worsened, but before Percy could make a comment, there was an outraged scream that seemed to ring throughout the entire building.

Aphrodite paled for a moment and the two demigods looked to her in confusion. "Athena's ticked." She whispered hoarsely.

"What did my dad do this time?" Clarisse sighed, hanging her head.

"No, that scream wasn't the result of anything Ares could have done short of killing one of her children." The Goddess of Love led them out into the hallway where the other gods were gathering to see Athena striding from her chambers and beginning to pace as she grew bigger with each step.

"How dare he!" she snarled. "How dare that disgustingly filthy little man lay his hands on my daughter in _any way_?"

"Athena, what's wrong?" Zeus asked, stepping forward.

"The same person that stole Aphrodite's serum has kidnapped my daughter!" the Goddess of Wisdom shrieked.

"Annabeth!" Percy and Clarisse shouted together.

"Precisely." Athena nodded to them.

"Well then, that makes this a bit easier for you two." Aphrodite told them. "Annabeth's in the same place as the Elixir. Apollo said that if you succeed, you get to keep the rides you came in." Clarisse grinned widely at that. "Just remember: on a quest given by the Goddess of Love, only _love_ can guide the way."

"Yes, Lady Aphrodite." Both bowed their heads and turned, heading for their separate vehicles. Clarisse watched Percy get into a mustang and nodded, hopping on her motorcycle and pulling up beside him.

"Where do you think we should start?" she called.

"Annabeth would start from the beginning." Percy responded, turning the key in the ignition In his head, he was replaying the words of the prophecy. _One mission as always will change their fate…_ "Let's head back to camp and start searching for clues."

"You got it, Jackson." Clarisse sped off, heading for the camp boundaries to begin looking for anything that could tell them who this person may be. Coming to the boundaries, she hopped from the motorcycle and parked it against a tree, moving carefully through the area and looking for clues. Hearing an engine cutting nearby, Clarisse guessed that Percy was on his way and was proven right a second later when he jogged up.

"You take the high ground, I take the low." Percy told her.

"Why do you take the low?" Ares' daughter demanded.

"Because my dyslexia is worse than yours, which means I'll need to be closer to whatever I'm looking at."

Clarisse rolled her eyes and nodded. Checking over the trees, she gazed at them carefully, being new to doing detective work. Both demigods were lost in their thoughts as they searched for anything of value. Percy was deciphering the prophecy all over again to see if he had missed any clues while Clarisse worried over what some guy with the Elixir of True Love would want with Annabeth.

Percy moved over next to a tree that Clarisse was examining from the other side and noticed a footprint heading toward the campgrounds. "Hey, found a footprint. Looks fresh and no one new's arrived in a while."

Clarisse moved around the tree and surveyed the print. "Looks like it belongs to a male. From this imprint here, it says a size ten." She glanced at the tree and noticed something off. The sun was at her back, yet there was a shadow hanging near the tree. Moving closer and comparing distances, Clarisse found that the shadow wasn't created by anything, but was put there. _What could do that?_ She wondered.

"Hey Jackson." She called. "You know any kinda thing that can put a shadow somewhere?"

"No." Percy replied, standing from where he was looking for more clues. "But it can't be Greek because I've never heard of anything like that before."

"Yeah, me neither. So, where do we start this little quest of ours?" Ares' daughter inquired of Poseidon's son.

"I found some footprints leading this way." Percy told her, pointing in the opposite direction of Camp Half-Blood. "So maybe we should follow them until they run out, mark the place and come back for our rides."

"Sounds like a plan, Jackson. Just don't screw this up. More than our reputations are at stake here." Clarisse searched the ground and spotted the footprints Percy saw. Following them slowly, the two demigods headed off into the woods around the camp, Clarisse in the lead with her hand on her sword in case of danger. When the footprints began fading, Percy took the lead, Clarisse having trouble seeing them.

"Whoa…"

The female brunette glanced up when she heard that and found a large shadow blocking their path. "What the…?"

"You cannot pass." A voice growled, making Clarisse draw her sword and spin around, looking for anyone in sight.

"Who said that?" she snarled.

"You cannot pass." The voice repeated and Percy tapped her shoulder.

"I think… I think the shadow did."

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**_Alright, tell me what you thought of the chapter! Review for me, guys!_**


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